Agona East Assembly NADMO supports disaster victims

Mankrong-Junction, (C/R)- The Agona East District Assembly in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in Agona East directorate has presented 200 bundles of roofing sheets for disaster victims whose buildings were ripped-up by a severe rainstorm.

In all, over 20 communities were affected, involving 100 houses that were completely destroyed as a result of the disaster.

Speaking at the presentation, Mr Dennis Armah-Frempong, Agona East District Chief Executive (DCE) said the assembly had taken responsibility to procure roofing sheets to support the victims.

The DCE said the rainstorm did not affect individual houses alone, but also caused havoc to public buildings including; school Classroom blocks and Cocoa Sheds belonging to Produce Buying Company (PBC) at Mankrong-Junction, Agona Oketsew and others.

He said the Assembly had made contingent plans to purchase additional roofing sheets and other materials to roof classrooms before schools re-opened next week Tuesday to enhance teaching and learning.

Mr Armah-Frempong disclosed that the budgetary allocation made by the assembly to cater for disasters was woefully inadequate to assist affected residents as assembly’s purchasing power had gone down due to new policy guidelines for the implementation of District Assembly Common Fund.

Mr Armah-Frempong therefore appealed to Headquarters of NADMO, local and foreign donors and others to support the Assembly.

Mr Solomon Paintsil, Agona East District Director of NADMO said more than 4,000 persons were affected by the rainstorm and 2,000 out of the 4,000 received roofing sheets to repair their houses, while others were still in a dilemma.

Mr Paintsil said the NADMO was unable to support affected persons with plastic buckets, bowls, Mattresses, blankets, plastic cups, rice, cooking oils, soaps and others to better their lot as available records at Agona East NADMO directorate indicated that about 6,000 persons affected by the rainstorm in 2014 and 2016 did not receive anything from NADMO.

Mr Paintsil stated that the huge number of victims were still on waiting list, adding that the Agona East NADMO Office was handicapped and therefore could not offer them any relief items.

Mr Paintsil called on Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs), financial institutions, corporate bodies, individuals and well-to-do Agonaman Citizens home and abroad to come to the aid of NADMO.

Mr Sam Assandoh, Agona East Chairman of the New Patriotic Party(NPP) who accompanied the DCE and NADMO to distribute the items appealed to Central government to assist the victims.

He asked the people in the Agona East district not to politicize the disaster as the victims needed assistance no matter one’s political affiliations.

Mr Assandoh said the disaster had nothing to do with politics, but it needed collective efforts from both the government in power and opposition parties to find lasting solutions to the problem.

He assured the victims that they would continue to look for support from various partnerners irrespective of the challenges involved.